The Executive Weight-loss Plan: Part Two

Lose 7lbs in weight and gain a more athletic physique in just two weeks with
Nigel McDermott's 14-day Executive Eating Plan, the second part of our Men's
Fitness Special.

Executive eatingPhoto: ANDREW CROWLEY

by Nigel McDermott, Executive Fitness Trainer

7:00AM BST 04 Aug 2009

In the second part of my Executive Fitness Plan I will tell you how by changing what you eat for just two weeks you can lose as much as 7lbs in weight and gain a leaner, more athletic physique. Combine this eating plan with the Executive Workout, which featured in yesterday's paper, and in just 14 days you can totally transform your body. You will build stronger, firmer muscles, get a flatter stomach, lose puffiness from the face and around the eyes, have clearer, brighter skin, feel alert and more focused, with improved concertration levels, feel energised and more dynamic and regain your zest for life. Stick to this programme and I guarantee you will achieve results.

This eating plan is perfectly balanced yet incredibly simple to follow. There are no fiddly recipes to make and you will still be able to enjoy dinners at good restaurants.

Having spent years researching every diet and weight-loss strategy available, I've come up with six principles that guarantee success for losing body fat. These principles are not complex but, used in combination, form a powerful nutritional strategy.

Once you have absorbed these six principles, the key is for you to take ownership of every micro-step of your programme. Like the 14-day Executive Workout the key here is to use this as a kick-start to long-term healthy eating. Once you see the weight drop off and feel more energetic and focused, you will be inspired to eat healthily for life. Whether you are most concerned by an expanding waistline, or chronic stress and tiredness, the answer is eat right, exercise right, and you will feel like a new man. It's a proven strategy for success. The power is in your hands – get ready to excell.

* Nigel McDermott runs FitShape www.fitshape.co.uk, a one-to-one personal training service in north London, and can be contacted for personal training on 0208 444 5149

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Water is important in weight loss. Fat cells are made up of a dry mucus-like substance to make them better at storing fat. The more hyrdrated your fat cells the easier it will be to eliminate unwanted fat. Dehydration is a common cause of tiredness, poor concentration, reduced alertness, recurrent headaches and mood changes, and it can also lead to constipation, kidney stones, and even a blood clot, heart attack or stroke, as it increases the thickness and stickiness of blood.

2. Always get your five daily portions of fruit and vegetables.

Canned frozen and dried fruit count too; potatoes are classed as carbohydrate and do not count as one of your five a day; a serving of vegetables is approximately one handful; you can hide veg in things like Bolognese sauce, or blend fruit to make a smoothie.

3. Implement a carb curfew after six.

Dont' eat carbs in the evening, they will sit in your muscles and turn into fat while you're sleeping. Carbs also affect your insulin levels, disturbing your sleep patterns.

Cutting carbs after 6pm also helps cut your overall daily calorie intake without you having to try too hard. You will feel less bloated and fuller for longer.

4. Cut right down on alcohol.

I would prefer you to be alcohol-free for the duration of this programme, but at most consume one glass of alcoholic drink per day. The calories contained in alcohol are more readily converted into acetate which the body will use as fuel instead of using fat. Your body will not start breaking down fat until it has cleared itself of alcohol and it is a lot less efficient at burning fat when you have alohol in your system.

5.Eat three portion-controlled meals a day.

Lots of people who come to see me have pretty healthy diets, but are still not losing weight. An effective weight-loss programme must focus on portion sizes – so we don't count calories or grammes of fat, we use managed, fist-sized portions. For example, breakfast is a fist-sized portion of porridge and an apple. Dinner might be a large chicken breast, which is about the size of a fist, and so on.

6. Snack twice a day.

The aim is not to starve yourself – which makes your body hold onto fat because it thinks food is scarce – but to provide nutritious high protein, low carb snacks to ensure you have the right kind of fuel to keep you going until your next meal time. Protein fills you up for longer and helps to keep your blood sugar stable, which in turn helps stabilise your energy levels.